Refrigerator



C.:4 E. QUINN REFRIGERATOR Filed March 21, 1936 Nov. 2, 1937.

NIT @T1 is l A J A ,wf//f////fwff// INVENTOR. O/ara f5'. Waan/1 BY Patented Nov. 2, 1937 Clara. E. Quinnf'Mount Vernon, Ill., assignor to Broquinda, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corpora.-A

tion of Delaware Application March 21,

4 claims.

This invention is for a refrigerator structure. An important object of this invention is to provide a heat absorbing unit for refrigerators and the like employing a solid` refrigerant, such asV solid carbon dioxide, water ice, and the like, in amanner to effect the obtaining and holding of lower temperatures than has heretofore been possible for such refrigerators.

' A still further object of the invention is to employ, in combination with solid refrigerants of this type, a closed circulatory system employing.

a secondary refrigerant. I

These and many other objects are successfully secured by means of this invention.

This invention resides substantially in the cornin the art that this invention is not limited inuse to any particular form of refrigerator cabinet. The principles of the invention may `be-applied to refrigerated railway.cars, truck bodies, and store and household refrigerators.

An important object of this invention isto provide a heat absorbing unit for refrigerators of the ordinary type, such as are employed in the home for example, by means of which it is possible to secure and maintain lower temperatures employing water ice as the primary refrigerant than has heretofore been possible. It will be clear, however, that the mechanism is not limited to use with water ice.

In the drawing the cabinet or container I, which may be a railway car body, a truck body,

f and the like, is made of suitable heat insulating material to minimize the entry of heat into the closedI chamber defining the space to be refrigerated. It is of course apparent that the cabinet itself may beof any suitable construction and will vary in accordance with the forms .which it takes and the uses for which it is intended, As

illustrated in Fig. 2, the complete insulating cabinet is formed by the receptacle I and the door or cover 2 which is secured thereto by means of hinges 3, for example, so that access to the interlor may be had conveniently.

Supported within the cabinet at a suitable point below the top is a substantially horizontal 193s, serial No. '10,650

(ci. sz-ss) metal plate 4 mounted therein in any suitable manner and preferably slightly inclined towards the rear of the container. 'Ihis plate is adapted to support thereon, and in direct contact therewith, one or more blocks of solid refrigerant, such 5 -as water ice. Asis well known in the art, if solid carbon dioxide is employed, a suitable insulating spacer may be interposed between it and the plate 4in order to prevent the development of too low temperatures in the cabinet forcertain uses.

vSupported below the plate 4 and secured thereto around the edges by welding, soldering, or .the like, is a thin metal wall 6, shown as a series of straight portions connected by oppositely facing curved portions. The form of the wall 6 is such 15 as to provide a 'series of parallel channels which are disconnected, except at the rear end, as will be described later.

The front end of the wall 6 is closed by means of a piece of metal 1. 'I'he rear end is connected to a downwardly extending hollow fin 8 of metal which is sealed thereto. The portion 9 of the rear wall of the fin 8 extends upwardly and is secured to the plate 4 in any suitable manner. Thus the n 8 and the walls 6 and 'I form, with 2 the plate 4, a completely closed liquid-tight chamber. The portion of this chamber formed by the wall 6 consists of a series of parallel channels which do not. communicate with each other at the forward end but all of which open at the rear into the fin 8.

It may beA noted here, however, that the feature of the separated channels is not essential to the attainment of the objects of this invention. Thus the upper and curved portions of the wall 6 may be spaced from the plate 4 so as to provide direct communication between the channels. Within this chamber is placed any suitable liquid secondary refrigerant, of which a number of types are well known in the art. A liquid is employed which Yis particularly adapted to be circulated thermo-siphonically and may, if desired, be of the type that volatilizes on absorbing heat from the space to be refrigerated and condenses when it gives that heat up to the primary refrigerant. Extending `in each of the depending ridges of the wall 6 are the gutters or troughs I0 which are supported at their forward ends from the wall by means of clips I I. The rear ends of these troughs lo are supported upon and attached to, if desired, a gutter I2 which extends across and is supported upon the n 8. N

As is clear from Fig. 1 this gutter is depressed at the center so that the condensate which col- 55 drain pipe I3 also discharges into the gutter I4.

At 20 is diagrammatically illustrated a shelf on which the articles to be refrigerated may be placed, the bottom wall 'of the cabinet of course providing an additional support for the materials to be refrigerated.

Thesecondary refrigerant as it absorbs heat lfrom the lower portion of the cabinet rises within the n 8 and into the spaces provided by the wall 6 where it gives up its absorbed heat to the primary refrigerant through the conductive wall d. The secondary refrigerant, which is, as a result,

chilled, then iiows back do'wn intothe iin to ab- ,sor

sorb additional heat from the space to be refrigerated. l Thus a natural now of the secondary refrigerant will occur under the thermo-siphonic forces resulting from the absorption and dissi= pation of heat.

The iin 8 has a very large area within the space to be refrigerated thus insuring Arapid and complete absorption of heat from that space within the capacity of the mechanism. The air within the space is aided in its circulation by the shape of the wall 6 which encourages a uniform movement of the air Within the space, with the result that`a much more uniform temper-'- ature is attained therein at the different levels. Any condensate givenup by the warm air as it is chilled at the wall 6 drains down into the troughs I and is carried off by the gutter I and pipe I3. When water ice is employed the water produced by the melting ice, which is quite cold, drains down through pipe I3 within the iin 8 absorbing some heat on its way to waste.

By means of this structure it is possible and practical to reach and maintain temperatures as low as 37.5 F. in ordinary water ice refrigerators without additional insulation against absorption of heat through the walls thereof. This is a considerably lower temperature than itis possible to obtain in the same refrigerator cabinet employing water' ice without the heat absorbing unit of this invention. In fact it is believed that this is a lower temperature than hasheretofore been possible to obtain in practice employing water ice. It, of course, is apparent to those skilled in the art that thestructure is adapted to use Without material change with solid carbn dioxide when available.

The form of the wall is such as to considerably increase its area exposed to the space to be refrigerated which is an advantage in facilitating the absorption of heat from the air. circulating 'in contact therewith.

From the above description itwill be apparent that this invention resides in certain principles of construction and arrangement of parts which may'be varied by those skilled in the art without departure from the real scope thereof. I do not, therefore, desire to be strictly limited to the disclosure as supplied for purposes of illusA tration but rather to the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerating apparatus as described comprising a heat insulated cabinet, a metal shelf forming a partition dividing the cabinet into two chambers, a corrugated wall secured to the under surface of said shelf forming a container composed of a plurality of channel-shaped compartments, said wall and shelf being joined to close said compartments at one end, and at the other end connecting with a metal fin-shaped casing, -said compartments communicating with each other through said casing, said casing extending below said shelf and forming with the container a closed circulating system for a secondary refrigerant.

2. A refrigerating apparatus as described comprising a heat insulated cabinet, a metal shelf forming a partition dividing the cabinet into two chambers, a corrugated Wall secured to the under surface of said shelf forming a container composed of a plurality of channel-shaped compartments, said wall and shelf being joined Vto close said compartments at one end, and at the other end connecting with a metal fin-shaped casing, said compartments communicating with each other through said casing, said casing extending below said shelf and forming with the container a closed circulatory system for a secondary refrigerant, a conduit system supported below the corrugated wall and in heat exchange i relation with said casing to conduct away the condensate formed on the corrugated wall.

3. A refrigerating apparatus as described comprising a heat insulated cabinet, a metal shelf forming a partition dividing the cabinet into two chambers, a corrugated wall secured to the under surface of said shelf forming' a container composed of a plurality of channel-shaped com partments, said wall and shelf lbeing joined to close said compartments at one end, and at the other end connecting with a metal iin-shaped casing, said compartments communicating with each other through said casing, said casing extending below said shelf and forming with the container a closed circulatory system for a secondary refrigerant, and a. drain pipe for said shelf'extending through the casing.

4. A refrigerating apparatus as described comprising a heat insulated cabinet, a metal shelf forming a partition dividing the cabinet into two chambers, a corrugated wall secured to the under a closed circulatory systemfor a secondary refrigerant, a conduit system supported below the corrugated wall and in heat exchange relation with said casing to conduct away the condensate formed on the corrugated wall, and a drain pipe for said shelf extending through the casing.

CLARA E. QUINN. 

